his month's theme at the Gypset Market

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Hello friends!

I am popping to share a spring portrait session I took this weekend. My client was just gorgeous! I had so much fun taking these and the weather was perfect. Cloudy skies gave us the moody look we wanted to achieve. I have been terrible about keeping up on Flickr, please forgive me!! I have been so busy trying to keep up with my new est endeavors. Just as a quick reminder you can add me on FB www.facebook.com/rachel.c.brokaw

As I am on there more often because of my business page. I do hope to pop in more frequently but consider me on a short break for now. I hope you are well. Sending love to each of you!

xxoo

Rachel

It was a toss between

Glasnevin Gypsie or Number 9 @ Dublin 9

The pitch all to itself, Dublin Bus Volvo GT 159 with its wrap for Bohemian football club, in a league of its own down Mobhi Road towards Dallymount Park & the final whistle at Limekiln Avenue, home to route 9.

Bohemians football team strip celebrating their 130 years, Phibsboro Garage GT 159, the official #bohsbus

Next stop, Dalymount Park. #bohs #DublinsOriginals

Life's a journey, not a destination.

I wanted dreadlocks for as long as I can remember but I never got around to it.. then I lost my hair from chemotherapy last year but it's growing back thicker & faster than ever.

I have almost 6 inches of natural dark curly hair right now - I'm wearing a dread wig in this self-portrait from an indoor tent set I built in January 2020, and I've been wearing another dark dreadlock wig I made from a normal wig, but I'm thinking it might soon be time to properly weave some in.

I try to regularly reinvent myself & experiment with identity through creative expression. I think for many, the fear of being ridiculed or judged for not dressing or looking a certain way stops them from expressing who they are or who they want to be, which is quite tragic considering we only have a certain number of years on this planet to make an impact and live with as much freedom and self-acceptance as possible.

But 34, (as I now am) or 74, it is never too late to reinvent yourself physically or mentally, or your values, just make sure you do so for yourself and no-one else.

“All I need is a little time to get behind this sun and cast my weight. All I need is a peace of mind. There I'll celebrate.” – Air, All I Need

It feels a little bit like autumn so I have been in my garden & away from social media the past few days, cleaning and tidying down my bell tent & ripping out overgrown blackberry brambles, and still managing to fit in workouts. I'm struggling to get my arms above my head like this right now because I think I've pulled every muscle I have, but feel so good for finally being able to get outside and not get blown / washed away in back-to-back storms & floods.

Dress & headscarf by All About Audrey - www.allaboutaudrey.co.uk

Location is The Hacienda, London

Bohemians football team strip celebrating their 130 years, Phibsboro Garage GT 159, the official #bohsbus

Next stop, Dalymount Park. #bohs

Life's a journey, not a destination.

Still in the Boh's team strip & in good shape considering the wrap was applied in September 2020, Phibsboro Volvo Wrightbus GT 159 on a northbound 9 to Charlestown.

The official #bohsbus

Next stop, Dalymount Park. #bohs

Life's a journey, not a destination.

www.vs-fototeam.de

Quality prints, greeting cards and many useful products can be purchased at >> kaye-menner.pixels.com/featured/abstract-boho-design-dipt...

A vibrant acrylic painting mixed media design by my daughter, Nikki Menner. This is the right painting (Right Image) forming a 'diptych'. It can be purchased on its own, or together with the "Abstract Boho Design - Diptych (Left Image).

Contest being held at

Fashion Doll Collector Photo Contest Group .

The theme for the 2nd round is: Hippie Chic

Show us your doll(s) in a chic Hippie look. You can use floral patterns, colorful embroidery, fringe, fur, lace .... and tons of accessories made of gold, colorfull beads or wood, floppy hats or headbands. One doll ore more, Full body or portrait. You can photograph everything that comes to your mind.

model: Scene Stealer Isha

dress: Bride of Dracula Forever and Ever Contessa

jewelry: Tess-Creations www.flickr.com/photos/tess--creations/

Wow! What a perfect dress her! I know this look is quite similar to my first outfit for Jodie but I couldn't resist as the colours and overall look are so perfect. I definitely want to go with a different style next time but I couldn't let this one go ;-)

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Wow! What a perfect dress her! I know this look is quite similar to my first outfit for Jodie but I couldn't resist as the colours and overall look are so perfect. I definitely want to go with a different style next time but I couldn't let this one go ;-)

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How do you practice self-care?

For the past few months and for the forseeable future, I'm hooked on weight training.. not loads of weight, but lots of reps as well as yoga to stretch out muscle aches & pains. I want to be as strong on the inside & outside as I mentally feel on the inside!

It's okay to remove yourself from vulnerable situations, stop the roller-coaster, retreat..

Life happens at an alarming pace and we often unknowingly add to that momentum with the unecessary stress & pressure we put upon ourselves, let alone stresses from others.

Cancelling plans is okay. Staying home to cook is okay. Disappearing for a bit to get your life together is okay.

Resurfacing in a foreign country with a new name 10 years later is okay; it's called self-care.

I guess we haven't had much of a choice with the pandemic and lockdown for much of this year, but it's important that this message is instilled in us all the time.

akeyphoto.com

instagram.com/rayakey

facebook.com/rayakey

Faye is wearing my latest creation inspired by her soft summer vibes. This Prairie style dress strongly reminds me of a vintage Laura Ashley dress I had as a teenager, mainly due to the pretty sprig floral print (this is Rose &Hubble cotton poplin) and the full gathered skirt with attached ruffled frill/tier. That tier took a whole day to make and attach. My Laura Ashley dress had a different bodice and sleeves but the overall vibe of this very much reminds me of Laura Ashley prairie dresses.

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Wow! What a perfect dress her! I know this look is quite similar to my first outfit for Jodie but I couldn't resist as the colours and overall look are so perfect. I definitely want to go with a different style next time but I couldn't let this one go ;-)

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Sometimes I wish I could keep some of the sets I create forever - I get a little emotionally attached to some of them!

I'm always kinda sad when it's time to take them down, but then I'm on to the next project & there are always photos to keep the fantasy wonderland alive(!) so any sadness is short-lived.

This is one of my favourites to date!

I created a bed area by pushing a Chesterfield sofa & a chaise longue together, (they were the same heights & already at the location) and covering the whole seated area with Indian saris & cushions.

Then I made a four poster type set-up by stapling more saris layered with long pieces of lace to the ceiling and letting the fabrics drape down, secured with tassle tie-backs.

This has to be one of my favourite self-portraits from my Bohemian Garden photographic event to date!

Location is the wonderful Hacienda, London, styling (clothes) by All About Audrey - www.allaboutaudrey.co.uk

We've had some super windy weather here in the UK recently, so I've been dismantling some of my more temporary structures, moving bits of outdoor furniture and reinforcing some structures in the garden from the storm-like winds - like this one, my little wooden summer house.. although I can't actually do much about that.

I am living on the coast, which is expected to be windier than inland towns, and I sometimes worry about the awning over the caravan, but it seems to be sturdier than I first thought.

Mother nature is beautiful, fascinating & infinitely powerful all at the same time, and it is an important reminder that nothing is permanent - even the bad times.

Ever had days where your head is so full of stuff, pondering ideas and possibilities for the future, that you don't get anything done at all?

Planning is just as important as doing, but if you're never coming to any conclusions or making any decisions, instead only thinking about the potential then nothing will get done.

I am the kind of personality who often ends up with a million & one things floating around in my head at once and can easily get overwhelmed if I don't recognise when it happens.

Pick one thing at a time to concentrate on and force yourself to see it through to completion before you move on, even if it's the only thing you work on that day.

It's such a tough self-motivation exercise when you perhaps work from home, and your boss is your brain getting distracted from all directions - but it's also a game changer in productivity.

Here I'm wearing a gorgeous green kimono & green heart-shaped sunglasses by All About Audrey - www.allaboutaudrey.co.uk at The Hacienda, London

Hello everyone!

A huge apology for such a long absence - I have not perished at the wrath of Covid-19 (so far so good) and I hope you are all safe & well.

I have a lot of catching up to do so I hope you don't get alarmed when I post some pics of me abroad in March - I am definitely at home!

Over my last few posts a good couple of months ago now, I mentioned that I had breast cancer.

I kept a blog throughout my treatment, and took many photos, documenting every single emotion but I kept a lot of it private at the time. I chatted endlessly to friends about it & made the blog, long before I started my Flickr account.

I thought I would do a post explaining what happened to me..

Some of you will already know, (and many won't) I was diagnosed with stage 1, grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma breast cancer in November 2018.

I had successful lumpectomy surgery, (and a lymph node biopsy which was thankfully clear) followed by chemotherapy & radiotherapy to hopefully prevent a reoccurence.

I was trying to grow my hair super long.. I'd bleached it blonde for a long time, (I'm a natural brunette) and conditioned it everyday, and when I found out I was going to lose it all I was devastated. I ordered a very long & very expensive platinum blonde wig with a super realistic hairline which I fell in love with, and features in many of my photos here.

My hair is growing back now - it's short, curly and dark, pretty much the opposite of what I had(!) but here's a photo from July 2018 with my bald head, when I had just finished chemo & waiting for radiotherapy treatment.

I indulged in the summer of 2019 for healing as much as possible - I climbed trees, built hideaways & hung fabrics - everything I love to do to make me feel good. Nature is so healing.

I'm not ashamed of my body, rather I'm proud of how it continues to try protect me. Whoever you are, and for whatever reason, losing your hair is nothing to be ashamed of, but it can feel like it's not in-keeping with a certain way of life, when actually, it IS life and you realise you are still beautiful and can do beautiful things, influence others, etc.

I wasn't going to write about it here at all because I didn't want this gallery to become linked inherently with cancer or disease, but I can see now on the contrary, it has opened me up to many creative possibilities.

I hope you'll continue to follow 😘

Be well x

The earth without 'art' is just 'eh'..

I ADORE colour and texture and fabrics and creating visual explosions.. composition is important, sweeping leading lines, unfamiliar angles, complimentary colour palettes..

There's a lot of artistic work which goes into creating a set - it doesn't just happen by magic, but it always feels super magical when the photos are finished & delivered.

Fear has two meanings:

- Forget Everything And Run

- Face Everything And Rise

The choice is yours..

Once you become fearless, life becomes limitless.

One thing I have discovered over the past 16 months is that confronting and subsequently releasing your fear sets you free.. like the feeling of your shoulders relaxing from stress melting away during a massage.

You suddenly become acutely aware of how strained you were and didn't realise you could feel this good.

If you experience the thing you fear most, you can no longer fear it happening to you. You can be proud of yourself for getting through whatever that was, however you handled it at the time.

____________________

Here are some everyday acts of courage to practice and celebrate:

- Apologise

- Set boundaries

- Take responsibility for yourself

- Let go of the past

- Step into the unknown

- Forgive yourself and others

- Listen more

- Practice gratitude

- Learn from your mistakes

- Choose to be happy on purpose

- Really really follow your dreams

- Ask for help

- Learn to love yourself

This photo was part of a set of photos taken for my first ever Dogwood Photography (self-portrait) Challenge, January 2018..

It was a freezing day, January 4th I think and super windy. Luckily my local beach is only a 3 minute walk away and it was easy to wrap up warm to get there, then take my coat off for the shots as soon as everything was set up and in place.

It was too windy to use a tripod, so I balanced my camera on my coat on a wall and I had the remote shutter release in my right hand.

The shots were slightly darker out of camera as the sunlight was about 45 degrees behind me and I didn't use flash because of the wind, (I love that glowly illuminated effect which backlight natural light gives)

The wall in front of me was white and probably reflected a bit, although it was a fair distance from me so I used Lightroom's adjustment brush to lift some shadows later :)

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

🎶

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these sunken eyes and learn to see

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to be free

. ~ The Beatles

Wearing a gorgeous golden kimono by All About Audrey - www.allaboutaudrey.co.uk at The Hacienda, London

Teepees are like handbags.. however large you go, you always manage to fill them up!

Incidentally, this was my previous teepee (last year's photo) and it was one meter less diameter than my current hippie home.. this one had a relatively low entrance and you'd have to bend over quite a bit to get in.. perfect for lounging about in the doorway though.

This gorgeous jumpsuit is so light & airy for summer and by All About Audrey.

Go explore her magical collection of colourful designs & textures: www.allaboutaudrey.co.uk

It's probably not the first time I've mentioned I'm obsessed with colour - not just colour, but colour hues - deciding which hues work together, and more importantly which ones don't.

I'm not adverse to using any colours in particular because they all serve a purpose depending on what I'm shooting at any given time, but generally speaking I'm suppose I'm not a fan of purpley pink. I find it quite brash & reminds me of the horrors of Barbie.

No doubt one day I will shoot using these colours and I'll be subjected to a load of "but I thought you hated this look.."

For authentic 60s-inspired bohemian styling I'm really drawn to warm, earthy & somewhat muddy colours rather than saturated ones.. reds, oranges, yellows, browns, greens and all their warmer hues.

When picking a backdrop for any set, it's important the product doesn't get lost in the background, especially since I'm a fan of using loads of textures - my photos are often quite busy.

I'll either shoot a colourful item on a relatively neutral colour palette, or vice versa.. or if I'm layering similar colours & have the space to move back, I'll bring the product away from the background & shoot with a wide aperture so the background is blurred. This way, the product has separation from anything else, no matter if it's red on red or even black on black.

I love the colours in this shot.. I chose to wear an utterly gorgeous golden yellow & coffee patterned kimono by All About Audrey (www.allaboutaudrey.co.uk) against a darker, rustic & warm backdrop made of Indian saris, (pretty much the same type of fabric as the clothing!) and a few hanging rose vines / bundles of pampas grass / grasses & lillies in a vase to break up the fabrics.

The rose vines aren't real - the original stems & leaves were a horrible plasticky saturated green colour, so I spent hours coating them all in a translucent gold acrylic paint wash. I used tonnes more vines than just these two you can see in this photo and I wasn't prepared to let an ugly intrusion of bright green distract from the harmony of the vintage-esque rustic hues, despite knowing I could change it all in Photoshop afterwards.. that's not the point.

Location is The Hacienda, London

www.vs-fototeam.de

Are you a coffee or a tea drinker?

I just realised why I should always stick to tea..

One caffeinated coffee today sees me bouncing off the walls!

Nothing like this relatively zen photo of me enjoying a cuppa at The Hacienda, London

Wearing a gorgeous kimono from All About Audrey - www.allaboutaudrey.co.uk

Styling & set design, modelling, photography & retouching by me

Thought I'd upload another image from the winter beach series as the first photo from this set is my most viewed image on here so far at 686 views - www.flickr.com/photos/186889304@N08/49502477282/in/datepo... (Thank you!)

Self-portrait of course.. camera balanced on camera bag, manually focused using upright stick wedged into the pebbles where I stood.. natural light using aperture priority with 85mm & increased exposure compensation.

Don't wait for something like Valentine's Day to get romantic. It's not about hearts & flowers & candy & cards & mush anyway - it's about love - LIFE is about love.

So for as many days of the year as possible, love the amazing people in your life; love the jeans that make your butt look awesome, the particularly amazing coffee you had this morning, and the last thing or person which made you laugh. Love your four-legged fluff monsters, songs with beautiful memories attached, and above all things - love YOU.

Spread the love..

This gorgeous, romantic, vintage rouge feather peignoir is a one-off piece by All About Audrey - www.allaboutaudrey.co.uk, photographed here as a self-portrait at The Hacienda, London

Another self-portrait from half way through my chemotherapy treatment last year, (I notice my puffy face) taken at the gorgeous Studland Bay House, UK.

I'm wearing my favourite blonde wig I had handmade by a super wig maker, Jacqueline and it was at a time I was experimenting with coloured contact lenses too. I've always had super dark eyes so it was a novelty to be able to go blue-eyed for a bit!

I'm also wearing a beautiful, intricately embellished peach & gold-coloured outfit belonging to my friend, Laura, who was there with me and kindly let me borrow it for this shoot.

It looks like a sari but it is in fact a two-piece outfit consisting of a long flared skirt and a large shawl draped over the shoulders as a matching top.

The fabric was so heavy and luxurious, and of course it was entirely handmade.. every single bead perfectly placed and sewn with love & precision.

I'm always absolutely blown away by the intricacy of Indian clothing and I'm so in love with these colours & textures, especially against the wooden stairs.

This is quite a dark hallway - I used natural light but also a silver reflector to push some light back in from a huge window behind me & to my left.

When you don't want to throw out your old curtains..

I'm kidding, these vibrant gold swathes of fabric aren't really curtains, they're actually huge satin tablecloths I ordered for the reception when I got married in 2010 and then kept all this time, (even though I decided not to keep the man!)

This photo is a throwback to July 2019, taken at the beautifully sumptuous Hacienda home studio / creative space in Shoreditch, London, which became my second home for quite a substantial time.

I had some time to kill here on this day and decided to shoot some self-portraits using pools of swirly fabric.

I ironed everything first because I wasn't prepared to spend hours in Photoshop removing endless unsightly creases.

I think there's little worse than a beautiful gown with a tonne of creases & folds.

The ironing took about 3 hours in total - this shoot took 10 minutes from start to finish!

I absolutely love decorating for a dinner party, and for someone who cannot eat so many things due to health complications, I'm a real foodie and still manage to pack away 6-7 meals a day. Alcohol is for special occasions for me now, I never drink at home anymore.. well, maybe at Christmas.. and maybe when there's a pandemic and you can't get out as much.. hmmmm..

This gorgeous outfit, all All About Audrey (www.allaboutaudrey.co.uk) is perfect for a dinner date. Love that cute necktie! What do you think? Is this something you would wear?

Dining room set design by me at The Hacienda, London.